Easy Butternut Squash Ravioli

Homemade ravioli. They are simple to make (I promise). They taste fresher than anything you’ll buy in the store. And you’ll impress your guests (or your spouse, or even just yourself). So let’s get on with it!First of all, you can make homemade pasta dough, roll it out, and cut it to size if you want. I’m not usually that organized or patient, so I use wonton wrappers. I really like how thin and light they are, giving you a delicate pasta to hold your filling instead of something dense.Next, make the filling. I like a really simple combination of equal parts cooked butternut squash and ricotta (I used part skim, but use whatever version you like), then I simply add some shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. BTW, the best way to get authentic nutmeg taste is to buy whole nutmegs and grate them with a Microplane Zester. Stir that all together well then you’re ready to start assembling.Lay out wonton wrappers on a cutting board and spoon a small amount (1 tablespoon and I think a small ice cream or cookie scoop works great for this) onto the dough.Next you’ll need to use a pastry brush to wet the outside edges of the wrappers with the filling on them……then carefully lay another wrapper on top and seal the edges. This is, I swear, the only part that takes a little finesse. Seal down one corner, then work your way around the filling, pressing out air as you go until all four edges are sealed.Lay them all on a baking sheetÂ lined with parchment paper or wax paper and then pop the whole thing into the freezer. When the ravioli are all frozen, you can put them into a plastic bag or container together without risking them sticking together. Now, I’ve only showed you the process thus far today in case you want to make these ahead and be ready to cook them in the upcoming recipe with me. I think they are much easier to cook from frozen, so if you’re joining me in making them for dinner with brown butter and sage sauce, get those ravioli made soon!

In a medium bowl mash the cooked squash and combine with the ricotta and Parmigiano; add salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir together. To form ravioli, place one tablespoon of filling on a wonton wrapper. Wet edges of wonton wrapper and top with a second wonton srapper, pressing out any air in the center as you seal. Lay in single layers on baking sheets and freeze. Once frozen, store in a covered container or plastic bag until ready to cook.

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Comments

i cannot WAIT to do this. i’ve always wanted to make my own pasta, but as u mentioned, i’m not patient enough, nor do i have the utensils needed. so this sounds beautiful and i LOVE butternut squash as the filling…thanx! i’ll credit you on my site when i do make it 😉

These sound so delicious! We have not been big fans of butternut squash until we tried them in a new recipe recently… we should try these also! Would love for you to link them in our Star Recipes Collection. The presentation makes them great to make for dinner with friends.

Last weekend I made these. All seemed to go well until last night my husband decided to surprise me and make them for dinner. It turned out to be a disaster! They broke apart in the water during boiling and the squash filling came out. I wonder what I did wrong. I think he may have let them sit too long after taking them out of the freezer, so maybe they were not frozen enough when they were put in the boiling water. Or…..maybe when I made them I didn’t seal them well enough. I still have some in the freezer, but I am reluctuant to have them if this is going to happen again. Any idea what may have gone wrong? BTW, I followed the recepie exactly and I did use the Won Ton wrappers. Thanks for any advice you can give me.
-Laura

Laura, I’m so sorry you had this experience and I must tell you that it happened to me once. It has to do with how wet the filling is, how tightly the ravioli are sealed (no air pockets), and whether the water is boiling too rapidly. If the filling is too wet, it tends to “bleed”, causing them to disintegrate a bit. If you have air pockets they tend to explode. And if the water boils too rapidly they get roughed up. I don’t know about the ones you have in the freezer, but try simmering them instead of boiling them, and cook them from completely frozen, not thawed. If you make another batch, try cooking the butternut squash in a dry skillet to get some of the moisture out before you make the filling. And please do let me know how it turns out!